Haren Pandya, a BJP leader and former Gujarat Home Minister, was killed in 2003 in Ahmedabad while he was in his car after a morning walk.

Witness in the Trial court

Azam Khan, an earlier associate of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsiram Prajapati, is a key witness of Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case. He alleged that he had given the same statement to CBI in 2010 but they didn’t put his statement on record.

The witness met Sohrabuddin in 2002 and became a good friend with his wife Kausar Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati.

During the trial, the witness said Sohrabuddin told him that he got a contract from DG Vanzara which was from higher-up to kill Pandya and he executed the task. Azam also said that he told Sohrabuddin that he has killed a good person and Pandya had helped bring both Hindu and Muslim communities together after 2002 riots. He decided to leave his company after the incident.

The witness further claimed that Prajapati told him that Shaikh and Kauser Bi were killed by Gujarat Police when Prajapati met him in Udaipur jail after he was arrested by Rajasthan police in 2005. Prajapati was later killed in an alleged fake encounter by Gujarat and Rajasthan police.

DG Vanzara discharged

DG Vanzara has been discharged by a special CBI court on August 1, 2017, on the alleged 2005 fake encounter cases of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, Kausar Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati, citing lack of evidence and absence of sanction to prosecute him.

What was the Sohrab, Prajapati encounter case?

There have beencontrasting reports on the identity of Sohrabuddin Sheikh – some say he was a police informer turned rogue, some say that he was an extortionist who had angered influential people in the builder lobby in Gujarat and the marble lobby in Rajasthan; while others opine that he was a terrorist.

Sohrabuddin hailed from Jharnia village in Madhya Pradesh, was in his mid-30s and an established criminal.

On 23 November 2005, while he was travelling with his wife, Kauser Bi, from Hyderabad to Sangli in Maharashtra, the Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Gujarat police stopped his bus and took them away.

The couple was locked at a farmhouse outside Ahmedabad. Three days later, a police team led by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and former ATS chief, D G Vanzara, took Sohrabuddin away and killed him in an alleged encounter. They claimed that he was a terrorist trying to attack the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

After his death, Kauser Bi went missing. The Gujarat CID later said that she had been killed and her body burnt.

A year later, on 28 December 2006, Sohrabuddin’s partner in crime, Tulsiram Prajapati, was also killed by the Gujarat police in an alleged encounter in Banaskantha. Investigations reveal that he knew about the Sohrabuddin encounter.

The case had been going on since 12 years as it was suspected that the policemen of three states, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan carried out the killing at the behest of political bosses to silence those who knew ‘too much’

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Partner Story

This Diwali Let Us Rebuild Schools To Secure A Better Future For The Country

We all have memories attached to our schools. Yes, obviously we do, otherwise, why would we be all excited for our school’s 10-year reunion? Because reunions are the time when we get to relive those juvenile memories and cherish the good old days.

The times we shared the same bench with our best friend and played tic tac toe on the desk. The times we took toilet breaks in the middle of a class only to secretly loiter around the corridors. The brilliant lunches we shared with our friends on the school playground during recess. Reminiscing over these memories warms our hearts.

Did you know that at least 35 million children between the age group of 6-14 do not attend school in India? There have been several reports that girls drop out of school because of a lack of basic facilities such as toilets. These children are not only missing out on basic education, but they are also missing out on those wonderful memories.

In a bid to make early education accessible to all, HIL Limitedhas taken a wonderful initiative. HIL Limited believe in the fact that when we do things together, better things happen, standing by their philosophy of ‘Together We Build’. In the film, you can see a small child Kamli. The naive child makes a colorful paper lantern for Diwali and gifts it to her school, which is in shambles. She is eager to learn and her adamant heart still gives her the hope that the colourful lantern might make her broken school a little brighter. After her Diwali holidays, when she comes back to her school and finds it prettier her heart rejoices.

HIL Limited believes that education is the right step towards bringing young minds together and creating a feeling of togetherness. Their social initiative has helped 75,000 children like Kamli by rebuilding their schools.

Now, these children would not miss out on basic education. They will also get to make beautiful memories that they will cherish for a very long time. This would also make their future stronger and more reliable. If you know any such school that needs attention, then please write to[email protected].

The Logical Indian appreciates HIL Limited for the wonderful initiative they have taken to make the future of so many underprivileged children better. Children are the future of the country and we hope that by making their future secure, we are taking our country forward.